Did you know that current AAS President Anneila Sargent and incoming President-Elect Caty Pilachowski were once competitors? According to their membership nomination forms, they both began their careers searching for the magnetic fields in peculiar A stars.

You receive this tid-bit of trivia as a Member in good standing. We thank you. Please encourage your colleagues and graduate students to join or renew now. (Especially if they are planning on presenting a paper at the Pasadena Meeting.)

The scientific content of the 199th Meeting will be planned by Society Officers during the 198th Meeting. Proposals for one and one half hour Special Sessions are due to Diana Alexander, mailto: diana@aas.org, by 15 May 2001.

4. NOAO OBSERVING PROPOSALS DUE 31 MARCH 2001 GEMINI NORTH AND SOUTH AVAILABLE FOR SCIENCE

The National Optical Astronomy Observatory announces the availability of our web proposal form for proposals for observing time for the 2001B semester, from August 2001, through January 2002. Time is available on both the Gemini North and South Telescopes of the International Gemini Observatory, on the 6.5-m telescope of the MMT Observatory, on the Hobby-Eberly Telescope, and on the telescopes of the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory and of the Kitt Peak National Observatory. Details of instrumentation, observing modes, and schedules are available on our website at

The first symposium dedicated to results from the Chandra X-ray Observatory, will be held 16-18 July 2001 as part of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific's 113th Annual Meeting. Entitled "The High-Energy Universe at Sharp Focus: A Symposium of Chandra Science," this international meeting will include all major science areas covered by Chandra observations. The program has been organized to highlight review talks plus posters and provide ample time for discussion.

The meeting website, which includes the program and registration and abstract submission (deadline is 18 May) information, is at

6. CONNECTING QUARKS WITH THE COSMOS: CALL FOR COMMUNITY INPUT Before 30 March 2001

The NRC's Committee on the Physics of the Universe (CPU) was charged by DOE, NASA, and NSF with identifying science opportunities at the intersection of physics and astronomy and recommending strategies for realizing these science opportunities. The NRC has recently issued the Phase I CPU report: Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos: 11 Science Questions for the New Century. The report is available on-line in its entirety at

The Committee believes that there are extraordinary opportunities for breakthroughs in our understanding of the Universe in which we live and the fundamental laws which govern it. We are beginning the critical second phase of our activity. The goal of Phase II is to identify strategies for realizing the 11 timely science opportunities. This will include making recommendations on how the agencies can most effectively cooperate and coordinate their programs in this area and identifying a set of projects that can realize the opportunities identified in the Phase I report.

The CPU needs and seeks input from the broad community of astronomers and physicists on agency cooperation/coordination issues and projects to realize the opportunities before us. We also welcome advice on any other aspect of implementing the Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos science. Comments should be sent to mailto:q2c@nas.edu.

The CPU is especially interested in being informed about specific projects (experimental or theoretical) that directly address any of the 11 science questions identified in the Phase I report.

We encourage astronomers and physicists to tell us about ideas and projects, from new concepts to relatively mature experimental and observational proposals. We ask that such descriptions be sent to mailto:q2c@nas.edu. These informal descriptions should be no longer than 2 pages and should contain:

Name of contact person and contact information

Discussion of the scientists who will or might be involved

Description of project and techniques used, list of key technical challenges and any new technologies requiring R&D

Rough estimate of cost and schedule

Description of the science questions that will be addressed and, to the extent possible, the science reach

Discussion of plans for or potential/need for multi-agency involvement

**The CPU would like to receive these descriptions as soon as feasible, and if possible, before 30 March 2001. This will permit us to start inviting groups to make presentations.**

Based upon the information received, the CPU will invite presentations of projects that have significant potential to address our 11 science questions at upcoming CPU meetings associated with the APS April meeting in Washington, DC, the AAS June meeting in Pasadena, the Snowmass meeting in July and further meetings to be announced.

The Phase I report will be presented at a public session at the April APS meeting and members of the CPU will be present to answer questions and receive comments. The following are the 11 science opportunities identified in "Connecting Quarks with the Cosmos:"

- What is the dark matter? - What are the masses of the neutrinos, and how have they shaped the evolution of the universe? - Are there additional spacetime dimensions? - What is the nature of the dark energy? - Are protons unstable? - How did the universe begin? - Did Einstein have the last word on gravity? - How do cosmic accelerators work and what are they accelerating? - Are there new states of matter at exceedingly high density and temperature? - Is a new theory of matter and light needed at the highest energies? - How were the elements from iron to uranium made?

An AAS Electronic Announcement is mailed to all members around the 10th of each month. Included are important items that do not fit into the schedule of the AAS Newsletter. Because of volume, Meeting Announcements are generally not included.

Items for possible inclusion in this announcement series should be sent to mailto:johnson@aas.org. Keep announcement short and refer readers to sources of additional information.